US court confirms danger posed by 'sound cannons'

A New York appeals court on Wednesday upheld a lower court's ruling that two police officers' use of a "sound cannon" was an unconstitutional abuse of force.

The New York police officers used a sound cannon, officially known as a Long Range Acoustic Devise (LRAD), in December 2014 to disperse people protesting the decision not to indict a policeman over the death of a black man during an attempted arrest.

Six protesters filed a complaint, saying they suffered from migraines, vertigo, sinus pain and hearing problems as a result of the incident."

The problem posed by protesters in the street did not justify the use of force, much less force capable of causing serious injury, such as hearing loss," the court said in its ruling.